Until recent years most of the mechanisms used in various dispensing machines relied on fixed pitch spiral or fixed pitch conveyor delivery systems. Individual product selections required an individual mechanism for each product, consisting of a powered spiral or a powered segmented conveyor. Such machines suffer from a number of disadvantages, such as low volumetric efficiency of product density due to the fixed pitch nature of the spiral, physical damage to the products caused by forces induced by the spiral, and physically damage to the product caused by dropping the product to a delivery compartment.
An additional disadvantage to most vending machines is that the machines take a long time to load and must be loaded from the rear of the product tray which is a the furthest distance from the door opening. Fixed pitch type delivery systems require that each individual unit of product be placed into its respective slot or position for delivery, further slowing and complicating the loading process.
It is conventional that most vending machines that have a visible front door to view the product require that the product be placed some distance behind the glass partition of the door, thereby limiting the clarity of the products to be selected by the customer. Machines that are low on product appear unappealing to potential customers.
Most vending machines do not have a way to confirm that the product the customer has selected is the same product delivered to the customer. This is a disadvantage to the customer as well as the vending machine operators. It can lead to accounting errors as well as fraud. For example, some machine operator are subsidized by large corporate brands and are obligated to stock the contractually agreed brands. If the operator substitutes non-branded products for the contracted branded products, this can lead to reduced revenue for the corporate brand as well as a breach of contract.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,240,139 and 6,547,096 disclose package vending machines comprising means for lifting product with a vacuum pick mechanism in combination with product storage bins and display areas. The present invention seeks to provide a product vending machine of a similar type to this type of machine, but which has an improved mechanism for product dispensing, reliability, innovative product display capabilities, soft delivery, ease of loading and product recognition.